In October 2016, overnight stays in hotels were 332,600 which is an increase of 37% compared with October 2015. Nights spent by foreign tourists accounted for 88% of the total number of overnight stays in October and increased by 38% compared with October 2015. At the same time, the overnight stays of Icelanders increased by 27%.
In the capital region, the number of overnight stays was 210,100, which is a 26% increase compared with October 2015. Around 63% of all overnight stays were in the capital region, followed by overnight stays in the South region, which were 49,900. Overseas residents with the most overnight stays in Iceland in October were from the USA (81,000), UK (79,200), and Germany (23,400), while overnight stays of Icelanders in October were 38,600.
For the last twelve months, from November 2015 to October 2016, overnight stays in hotels were 3,600,400, which is an increase of approximately 30% compared with the previous year, and an increase of 2.5% of overnight stays over a 12 month period when compared with the previous month.
71.2% occupancy rate for bedrooms in October 2016
Occupancy rate for bedrooms in hotels was 71.2% in October 2016, which is an increase of 10.4 points when compared with October 2015, when it was 60.8%. The occupancy rate for bedrooms was highest in the Southwest, or 86.3%. Occupancy rate in the capital region was 85.2%.
| Overnight stays in hotels | ||||||
| October | November–October | |||||
| 2015 | 2016 | % | 2014–2015 | 2015–2016 | % | |
| Total | 242,985 | 332,591 | 37 | 2,771,562 | 3,600,395 | 30 |
| Capital region | 167,162 | 210,137 | 26 | 1,791,530 | 2,289,090 | 28 |
| Southwest | 13,380 | 24,290 | 82 | 142,862 | 187,302 | 31 |
| West and Westfjords | 8,311 | 10,852 | 31 | 123,007 | 166,195 | 35 |
| Northwest and Northeast | 12,311 | 22,676 | 84 | 186,268 | 277,283 | 49 |
| East | 6,827 | 14,707 | 115 | 121,960 | 174,500 | 43 |
| South | 34,994 | 49,929 | 43 | 405,935 | 506,025 | 25 |
| Icelanders | 30,437 | 38,626 | 27 | 325,092 | 377,132 | 16 |
| Foreign visitors | 212,548 | 293,965 | 38 | 2,446,470 | 3,223,263 | 32 |
The above data only show overnight stays in hotels that are operating for the whole year. Guesthouses and summer hotels are not included in this category. Due to improved categorization of accommodation, there has been a slight change in numbers relating to overnight stays dating back to the beginning of 2016. In the current release, numbers in the relevant tables have been adjusted accordingly.